Chess helped Ray Rice's world slow down

Rambunctious young Ray Rice needed the structure of chess to calm his mind

September 17, 2011|By Kevin Van Valkenburg, The Baltimore Sun

Ray Rice was in elementary school the first time he sat down in front of a chess set. He was 9-years-old.

His fifth grade teacher, Calvin Heyward, believed this small boy from New Rochelle, N.Y., was capable of great things, but Rice — whose motor never stopped running — needed structure. He needed guidance. He had a wonderful mother at home, Janet, and she worked tirelessly to provide for her family all by herself after Rice's father was killed in a drive-by shooting when Rice was just a year old. But even a woman as strong as Janet Rice could not make her son sit still for long stretches.

The game of chess, however, made his world slow down. He was fascinated by the strategy, by the intrigue, by the satisfaction he gleaned from out-thinking an opponent.

"It was sort of to help out with school," Rice said. "Mr. Heyward figured if you could play chess, you could be really good at math. Because it's all about problem solving and logic. Ever since then, it's been a game that not only relaxes me, it helps me think before I react."

Rice wasn't just a novice at the game. He understood it well enough that he decided to enter a handful of youth tournaments, and the same year he learned how to play, he won a tournament in New York City, beating older and more experienced kids.

"I was nervous because all the guys I was playing against were these chess stars," Rice said. "I was like this local kid who looked at the timer [for the first time] and thought 'Whoa.' But it was all a process of thinking. As soon as you hit that timer, you need to be thinking about your next move."

Fifteen years later, almost everything about Rice's life is different. He's a 24-year-old man with arms the size of hubcaps, and one game into the fourth season of his NFL career, he's clearly established himself as one of the most dynamic offensive players in game. But if you look closely, the lessons he learned as a 9-year-old speed chess prodigy are still evident. He has simply applied them to football, out-thinking and out-maneuvering bigger and stronger opponents.

"Some of it is 'May the best athlete win,' but it's all about counter-acting someone else's strategy," Rice said.

Take, for example, the 11-yard touchdown catch Rice made against the Steelers in the Ravens' 35-7 win in Week 1. In many respects, it represents the best example of the Ravens offensive potential this season.

With 1:55 remaining in the second quarter, the Ravens were leading the Steelers 14-7. On 3rd-and-6 from the 11 yard line, quarterback Joe Flacco set up in the shotgun with three wide receivers split to his right. He sent Rice in motion to the opposite side of the field and received the snap from center Matt Birk. The Ravens revamped offensive line created a virtual bubble around Flacco, and the quarterback looked to his right.

His first read was covered. Flacco looked over the middle. His second and third reads were covered. He pump-faked once, then finally looked back to his left. Rice had already made the decision to break off his route, reverse his momentum, and juke Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons. Flacco took one step left, delivered a perfect ball, and Rice turned the corner and darted into the end zone.

Timmons kneeled near the goal line with his hands on his hips, still in shock over what had just unfolded. You might say he looked like a man who had just watched a pawn take out his queen.

"It may have looked like a designed route, but it was actually me and Joe's 'me-to-you' combination," Rice said. "I could have took it inside, I could have took it outside, but I knew the route behind me. I saw that no one was there. I took that quick peak. ... He made a hell of a throw. He got it where no one else could get it, and he actually gave me enough room to get turned and get to the pylon. It was great execution on both of our ends."

Part of what's fascinating about Rice's versatility is how few people saw it coming. At Rutgers, he started as a true freshman and ran for 1,120 yards on 195 carries (5.7 yards per attempt) but he caught just eight passes the entire year. The following year, he ran for 1,795 yards and scored 20 touchdowns, but caught only four passes. He did catch 25 balls his junior year — while rushing for 2,012 yards — but the Ravens certainly didn't think they were drafting a poor-man's version of Marshall Faulk in the second round of the 2008 draft.

"I think it was his second day of practice, I saw him catching punts and we all went, 'Whoa, this guy can catch,' " said Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. "You didn't really know."

It didn't take long for the Ravens figure out he could be their most consistent offensive weapon.